More Than Egg On His Face: The Fall of Ralph Northam
What a week it has been in my favorite commonwealth, Virginia. Politics and partisanship run deep in the Old Dominion, but for the most part, it tends to be governed with a light touch and Richmond tends to stay out of the national spotlight. As the old saying goes, “when it rains, it pours”. Virginia has been treated to a back-to-back political spectacle usually only reserved for the commonwealth’s role as a bell weather for now larger downstream elections will pan out.
On Tuesday, House Bill No. 2491 was debated and subsequently went viral on social media. Similar to the recently passed, Reproductive Health Act, the bill would have reduced restrictions on and allowed later term abortions.
As can be seen in the heated debate between Delegates Kathy Tran and Todd Gilbert, Tran concedes that the bill would allow for an abortion to be performed through the third trimester. Delegate Gilbert seeks clarification as to whether the abortion can be performed until the end of the third trimester, Tran replies “Yep. I don’t think we have a limit in the bill.”
Seeking to back up his party’s agenda to loosen restriction and expand late-term abortions, Governor Ralph Northam proceeded to add fuel to the fire during a radio interview on Wednesday where he described a hypothetical situation where an infant who is unlikely to survive after birth could be left to die without any attempt to resuscitate the infant. After the interview many were left dumfounded wondering whether a sitting governor, and trained medical professional, had condoned infanticide.
While this could provide ample ammunition for a full length piece about the evolution of the pro-life movement in the United States and the recent rash of pro-choice legislation making its way through state houses recently – Hint, hint, to my esteemed co-editor John Dos Passos Dos, it’s getting a little lonely on this site without you – the primary focus of this article is about what came up just days later and what is likely to lead to the unceremonious fall of Governor Ralph Shearer Northam.
Just days after putting his foot squarely in his mouth, the conservative blog, Big League Politics released a piece which shows Governor Northam’s 1984 yearbook from his time at the Eastern Virginia Medical School. The yearbook displays what one would expect to see on any red-blooded American man’s page: a dapper photo in a jacket and tie, a laidback picture in jeans and a cowboy hat, and a picture with a fast car. What has stood out and caused the Governor’s second ‘doggonit’ of the week is a final picture of two young men – one in blackface the other dressed a member of the Ku Klux Klan – drinking beers. That’s right. Let that sink in.
To add further context to this photo, just two years later, former Governor Douglas Wilder would be sworn in as the first African American Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. This picture didn’t take place in a time “before they knew any better”. The excuse “it was a different time back then” doesn’t holds water. Northam has graduated from the Virginia Military Institute, commissioned in the Army, and was in his last year of medical school. He most certainly should have known better.
Initially, Ralph Northam released an apology video on Friday where he confirmed that he was indeed in the photo (though he did not state which costume was his) and stated that he was deeply sorry for the decision he made to appear in the photo and for the hurt that he has caused both then and now.
Since that apology, and presumably after watching the 2000 instant classic “It Wasn’t Me” by Shaggy, Northam has reversed course and is now stating that he was not in the picture. Supposedly, he had “reflected with family and classmates from that time” which affirmed his conclusion that he was not either of the people in the photograph. He also came out and admitted that though he was not the person in blackface in the yearbook photo, he had attended a party that year which he “darkened” his face as part of a Michael Jackson costume. For an added cringe, here is Governor Northam having to be told by his wife, Pam Northam, that a press conference responding to racist photographs isn’t the time nor the place to show the press corps that he can still moonwalk.
Make no mistake, the Northam ship is sinking. The Democratic Party of Virginia released a tweet on Saturday morning stating “We made the decision to let Governor Northam do the correct thing and resign this morning – we have gotten word he will not do so this morning”. Major national players within the Democratic party have also joined in calling on Governor Northam to resign, including Crooked Hillary, the dancing machine AOC, and Virginia’s creepy uncle Tim Kaine.
While it does the heart good to see major political figures on the Left not partake in the hypocrisy, as we have come to know them for, there are still cronies who are comparing Governor Northam’s yearbook to now Associate Supreme Court Justice, Brett Kavanaugh’s infamous yearbook. There is just one difference. Brett “I like beer” Kavanaugh wasn’t in blackface or in a Klan robe. If he had been, he wouldn’t be an Associate Justice. Kyle Smith, from The National Review, wrote an excellent piece which further shows how any comparison between the two is indefensible.
As stated previously, at this time, Governor Northam has no plans on resigning his office. He continues to reiterate how sorry he is for the hurt he has caused but is unwilling to accept the personal responsibilities and consequences of his office. The once easy going, gentile, Southern Democrat’s reputation has been ruined and he is now unable to lead the state. I’d like to bid farewell to Governor Ralph “Coonman” Northam, dedicated racist and infanticide enthusiast, Virginia deserves better.
- William F. Buckley Jr. Jr.